Hockey writers might need to dust off a thesaurus or two to describe this one. What’s the correct variation of “strange” to describe this one? Should people refer to it as bewildering? Bizarre? Maybe a car wreck? All of those labels apply, but I think I’ll go with Brandon’s “sloppy” or maybe up the ante to flat-out “inept.”

Whatever way you slice it, though, the Chicago Blackhawks managed to eke out a 6-5 win that should leave the Philadelphia Flyers kicking themselves tonight.

Chicago Blackhawks 6, Philadelphia Flyers 5

Blackhawks lead series 1-0

Perhaps the Game 1 clincher was a microcosm of the game itself. Tomas Kopecky was considered more or less a throw-in when the Chicago Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa this summer; some wondered if the team acquired him simply to give Hossa a friend to talk to. He performed that way at times, too; after all, the reason he played (after being a healthy scratch for five straight playoff games) was because Andrew Ladd couldn’t suit up thanks to an injury.

Kopecky’s game winner was a buffet of everything right and wrong with this game. While the tally earned high marks for entertainment value, it came on the back of leaky defense on the part of the Flyers and a poor bit of positioning by relief goalie Brian Boucher. Here’s video of the goal, for your own perusal.

Neither team should be particularly proud – or, really – distinctly worried. The Flyers came out booming to the surprise of many, out-shooting the Blackhawks 17-9 for a stunning 3-2 lead in the opening frame. They dominated the Blackhawks in the faceoff circle (40 to 24) tonight and managed to score one PP goal in four chances while staying out of the box completely.

That’s right: the Flyers – a franchise once known for the sort of brutality that can occasionally give the sport a PR black eye – went a full game without sitting in the penalty box. I’d say that Dave Schultz is rolling in his grave right now, but “The Hammer” is still alive.

Down 0-1, the Flyers face plenty of questions. Is there a brewing goalie controversy after the team (justifiably, in my eyes) pulled struggling starter Michael Leighton? What happened to their stars who were held pointless in this contest? (Carter: -2, Richards: -2, Giroux -2 and Gagne -3. Yikes.) Was tonight a confidence booster or a missed opportunity?

The most troubling factor for Philadelphia – but also quite a sobering thought for Chicago – is that the Blackhawks big guns failed to show up, too. Dustin Byfuglien (0 pts, -3) was “out-buffed” by Brillo-headed goof ball Scott Hartnell, who provided a great net presence along with one goal and two assists. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were worse than invisible, as they took away from the table with matching -3 ratings. It’s fantastic that the ludicrously deep Blackhawks won without their stars contributing, but how often can they expect two goals from Troy Brouwer?

On some level, the Flyers can take a little confidence away from this game as even amid all the chaos, their forecheck flustered a nervous Chicago team into a near-loss. I cannot help but wonder if this game will be the best chance Philly has, though, as the Hawks out-shot the Flyers 23-15 in the final two frames. Chicago played its best hockey in the third period, when even the beleaguered Antti Niemi made some huge saves when it really mattered. Games like this might not make Niemi a legend … they just might make him a champion.

It wasn’t pretty hockey, really, but it sure was intriguing. One thing’s clear: it will be hard to top Game 1, at least when it comes to absurdity.

The New York Islanders made a splash on Friday, signing veteran forward Cal Clutterbuck to a five-year, $17.5 million extension — one that carries a $3.5 million average annual cap hit through 2023.

Clutterbuck, 29, has two goals and nine points through 25 games this year, while averaging 15:26 TOI per night (his highest average since joining the Isles four years ago). As per usual, he leads the club in hits — one of the staples of his game — and serves as one of the club’s alternate captains.

This new contract represents a nice raise for the former Minnesota Wild man. His last contract, set to expire in July, was of the four-year, $11 million variety, and carried a $2.75 million cap hit.

This contract also resembles the one GM Garth Snow gave another of the club’s role forwards. This summer, Casey Cizikas signed a five-year, $16.75 million extension — one with a $3.35 million hit — despite the fact he’d never scored more than 30 points in a season, or averaged more than 14 minutes of ice time.

This style of spending — along with splashes made for free agent disappointments Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd — is sure to raise some questions. The Isles opted not to spend that money on retaining two of their key players from a season ago, Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo, and the club has struggled to find its form through the first quarter of this year.

“We’re not going to give out any numbers now,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said yesterday, per Yahoo Sports. “The cap could range from where it is now to a couple or so million up, but we’re all going to have to focus on what makes the most sense moving forward.”

The salary cap only went up slightly for the current season, from $71.4 million to $73 million. The only slight increase was due to the lower Canadian dollar, which negatively impacted last season’s league revenues by “$100 or 200 million,” Bettman said earlier this year.

The loonie has been holding relatively steady for around half a year. It’s currently worth $0.76 USD and has been helped by the recent oil rally.

A flat salary cap would be bad news for big spenders like the Chicago Blackhawks, who still need to get Artemi Panarin signed to an extension. The Los Angeles Kings could also be forced to make some tough decisions, as they’ve got Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson in need of new deals. Ditto for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have key RFAs in Brian Dumoulin, Justin Schultz, and Conor Sheary.

Henrik Lundqvist has set such a high bar that his 12-8-1 record with a .912 save percentage is cause for great concern these days in New York.

That his backup, Antti Raanta, is 6-1-0 with a .932 save percentage only contributes to that concern, because if Raanta can manage those numbers, what’s Lundqvist’s excuse?

“I feel like I’m tracking the puck well, moving well,” Lundqvist told the Daily News. “It just comes down to some bad decisions at times that cost me.”

Indeed, December has not started well for The King. He’s allowed 10 goals in three starts for a save percentage of .894. In Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Islanders, his decision to poke check a loose puck led to the winning goal by Andrew Ladd.